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<v Speaker 1>The Queen Bee. Two princes left home to seek adventure

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<v Speaker 1>and soon lost their way. Their quiet younger brother went

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<v Speaker 1>after them. They laughed when he found them, but the

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<v Speaker 1>three traveled together. The elder brothers walked ahead and made

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<v Speaker 1>every decision loudly. The youngest followed, noticing what their boots

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<v Speaker 1>nearly crushed. At an anthill, the elder brothers wanted to

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<v Speaker 1>scatter the ants just to watch them run. They had

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<v Speaker 1>already found a stick, when the youngest stepped in front

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<v Speaker 1>of the hill. Leave them, said the youngest. At a lake,

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<v Speaker 1>the brothers wanted to catch two ducks for supper. The

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<v Speaker 1>ducks paddled close to shore, expecting crumbs. The youngest waved

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<v Speaker 1>them away before his brothers could grab them. Let them swim,

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<v Speaker 1>said the youngest. At a beehive, they wanted to light

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<v Speaker 1>a smoky fire and take the honey. Bees moved across

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<v Speaker 1>the entrance, carrying pollen home. The youngest pointed out berries nearby.

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<v Speaker 1>and led his brothers away. We have other food, said

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<v Speaker 1>the youngest. That evening, they reached a silent castle. Stone

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<v Speaker 1>horses stood in the stable. Inside, they found supper.

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<v Speaker 2>Beds, and a gray man who spoke only by pointing.

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<v Speaker 2>The castle looked occupied but held no ordinary movement. A

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<v Speaker 2>kettle steamed. Candles burned. Stone servants stood in the corridors

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<v Speaker 2>with trays in their hands. The gray man opened a

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<v Speaker 2>small door. brought them to a table, and served supper

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<v Speaker 2>without answering a single question. In the morning, the eldest

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<v Speaker 2>prince discovered three instructions carved on a marble tablet. Completing

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<v Speaker 2>them would wake the castle.

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<v Speaker 1>First, someone had to find 1,000 pearls scattered beneath the

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<v Speaker 1>forest moss before sunset. The eldest searched and failed. He

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<v Speaker 1>turned to stone. The second brother tried and also became stone.

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<v Speaker 1>The youngest watched both disappear into still gray figures. He

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<v Speaker 1>searched on his knees, lifting moss, one patch at a time,

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<v Speaker 1>but the pearls looked exactly like drops of light among

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<v Speaker 1>hundreds of white pebbles. The youngest had found only a

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<v Speaker 1>few pearls when the king of the ants arrived, with

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of helpers. Before sunset, every pearl lay in one

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<v Speaker 1>shining pile. The ants formed lines beneath leaves and roots.

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<v Speaker 1>Some carried one pearl together. Others rolled them across the ground.

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<v Speaker 1>The final ant arrived as the last edge of the

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<v Speaker 1>sun touched the trees. The second task was to recover

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<v Speaker 1>a key from the bottom of the lake. The two

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<v Speaker 1>ducks dived and brought it up. One duck surfaced with

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<v Speaker 1>weeds on its head. The other dropped the key at

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<v Speaker 1>the youngest brother's feet and shook water over his shoes.

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<v Speaker 1>The key opened a room where three sleeping princesses looked

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<v Speaker 1>exactly alike. To break the spell, The youngest brother had

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<v Speaker 1>to identify which one had eaten honey rather than sugar

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<v Speaker 1>or syrup. The queen bee flew in. She tasted each

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<v Speaker 1>princess's lips and settled on the youngest. The youngest brother

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<v Speaker 1>could not tell sugar from syrup by sight. The bee

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<v Speaker 1>moved from the first sister to the second, then rested

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<v Speaker 1>on the third sister's mouth. A faint scent of honey

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<v Speaker 1>remained there. The castle woke. Stone people moved again. The

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<v Speaker 1>elder brothers stretched as if they had nearly overslept. The

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<v Speaker 1>stone horses stamped in the stable. Servants completed steps they

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<v Speaker 1>had begun years before. Somewhere deep in the castle, a

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<v Speaker 1>clock struck all the hours it had missed, then gave

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<v Speaker 1>up after twelve. The youngest prince married the princess the

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<v Speaker 1>bee had chosen. His brothers married her sisters. At the wedding,

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<v Speaker 1>nobody disturbed the ants, ducks, or bees. The elder brothers

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<v Speaker 1>did not need that lesson explained twice. The End As always,

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<v Speaker 1>visit us at ReadTheTale.com for all your favorite tales and stories.